Swimming with Bridgeport Girls

by Anthony Tambakis

Ray Parisi is in trouble. Fired from his anchor job at ESPN after one too many public humiliations, he is holed up in a motel and in desperate need of a break. His ex-wife is shacking up with another guy in his old house, a Cambodian bookie wants to kill him, and he’s wanted by the New York State Police. A few days before the Fourth of July, he unexpectedly receives an inheritance from his long-lost father, and it seems like all of his problems might be solved. Determined to get his life back together, Ray hatches an imaginative but highly suspect plan to win back his wife, dashing from Connecticut to Las Vegas to Memphis in an attempt to secure his future before the past runs him down. The cast of characters he meets along the way is as loveable as it is absolutely insane.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Audiobook

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 11, 2017

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

As other reviewers here have said, don't be put off by the gambling angle. Like a great book about baseball, or ballet, or cooking, the particular obsession/addiction of the character is not the Thing: the character is the Thing. That said, the gambling details are just right, and the moments in the casino and at the blackjack table are utterly convincing. Tense and depressing and exhausting and full of all kinds of (good and bad) possibilities: just like Vegas.

For me, this is the kind of novel that works best in the first person, and if the voice of the narrator is just right. Ray's voice is spot on, funny and engaging, while also delusional and completely screwed up. The humor carried the first half of the book: casinos, and bookies, the best and worst characteristics of ESPN and celebrity culture, and even a cameo by Tommy Lee. When the pathos of the last act arrives--the way you knew it would, even as you root for Ray to somehow survive taking one more card when he gets to 17--it hits hard. There are few things more satisfying than a book or movie that finds the perfect closing shot, and _Swimming_ nails it.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an unforgettable debut novel with tremendous heart and soul. Ray Parisi may be down for the count because of a ruined career and some gambling debts, but he is convinced he has come up with a sure-fire plan to win back the heart of his ex-wife in spite of it all. What follows is a desperate, emotional, roller-coaster ride of a quest that involves a trip to Vegas, a huge inheritance, and some pretty colorful characters. With great humor and heart-breaking insight, Tambakis tells a beautifully rendered story of a broken man who keeps getting in the way of his own redemption. He is sure to stay with you long after the final page.

[S Vanorse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was enjoying it through the first 3 to 4 chapters, then it just started to annoy me. Then I started skimming and looking for all the dollar signs to see what the idiot Ray was going to do with his inheritance and praying the ex L was never going to take him back. Hated the ending, that could have been a lot better, might want to change that for the screenplay, I envision a much better ending.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me laugh out loud, almost tear up, and root for the delusional underdog. It was sort of amazing, this thing that happened with Ray Parisi.

First thing you need to know: I am finicky with my jokes. It isn't that I don't have a sense of humor. I have a huge sense of humor, but I don't generally (ever) find the 'lovable man-child gallivanting around Vegas filled with good intentions but bad decisions' plot to be funny.

You feel?

This matters a lot here.

If this author had written the main character, Ray, just a bit differently, I would have chucked this novel back into the library slot and forever thought of this author as Jason Bigg's less successful brother. Instead, he balanced this novel absolutely perfectly. He was able to bring the reader to a place of accepting Ray and from there, Ray took the reader on an absolutely hilarious and heartbreaking journey to the very last page.


I went into this book hesitantly. I don't understand gambling. I have never even been to Vegas. I knew this book would be hard to pull off even if I did like sports and did hit the casinos on the regular. In the end, it didn't matter much if I understood gambling or sports or Vegas. I only wanted to understand Ray.


If I could give readers one suggestion before starting this book, it would be to savor every page, appreciate every ridiculous thing Ray says. Once you get to the end and have to let Ray Parisi go, you will be sad the week with him went by so fast.

[Wrongleveeeeeeer · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Swimming with Bridgeport Girls was a lot more than I expected it to be going in. I read it on a high recommendation from someone I trust, so it wasn't that I didn't think it'd be good, it was just that the pitch I got was that the book was funny, with few other details (she knows I like to go into books fairly blind and spoiler-free). And the book was funny–hilarious even. I found myself laughing out loud and quoting lines to whomever was near me far more often than is normal for me. But beyond the humor, the book made me think and feel a whole lot of thoughts and feelings that I simply did not see coming from a book whose jacket description bills it as an "uproarious romp." Like, sure, it is that...but it's a lot more too.

Ray Parisi is a character that is constantly on the edge of making you hate him; he makes a series of terrible decisions that mostly make you want to scream into the pages, "NO STOP THAT RAY YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW AND DO THE OPPOSITE!" This is an aspect of the book that I've noticed other reviewers cite as one reason for a lower rating, but I find it to be, in tandem with another aspect of the book, one of its greatest features, and that complementary aspect is this: no matter how fucking dumb Ray outwardly is, Anthony Tambakis gives us such clear insight into his headspace, such access to his turbulent, confused, and often (mostly, sort of) well-intentioned reasoning, that you can't help but root for this moron. You become one with him. You want him to win because there is a part of you that knows exactly what he struggles with, and thinks, "Man, if the worst few minutes of my life got stretched out to last a year, I'd be in the place Ray is, and I'd want people to root for me to get out of it."

Aside from being surprisingly relatable, if only in a "man, I'm glad I'm not that guy" kind of way, Swimming with Bridgeport Girls becomes, as its pages fly by, a poignant rumination on love, loss, and what it takes for a person to maintain relationships in this crazy world. It forces you to look into your internal mirror and wonder how you can be better; how you can be not-Ray; how you can avoid life's greatest emotional pitfalls. Any book that can make me laugh out loud, and seriously self-reflect, while remaining a genuinely entertaining and coherent story throughout (even during portions where the laughs start to wane and the gut punches build up, or when the execution in the writing is a tiny bit sloppy), gets 5 stars from me.

[Wayne Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ray Parisi is not a name I'll soon forgot. It's been a month since I finished this genre-bending novel, and despite its solid sense of humor and array of Lebowski-esque characters, the parts that remain in my brain the strongest are the ones about love and hurt. Ray, like many of us, can't help himself. He's addicted to gambling, and like most addicts, he knows he needs to stop. But what happens when the strongest desire a man has - to win back the love of his life - is reliant upon his addiction? All comedies are about errors, and this one has many. Whatever mistakes he's made to get himself into the mire, we don't want to see him stay stuck. He's the most lovable loser (next to Lebowski) I've ever seen show up in a story. His trials will take you for your own journey, making you question the very nature of love and the hold is has on our souls. Why do we only appreciate it when we don't have it? Is it like air, when we have it, we don't feel it, but when we don't... Ray is gasping throughout this story, and while we know from start that it's his fault (even he admits it), we want him to get the breath he needs. No spoilers here, just a hearty recommendation to spend some time on your summer break (or any break you can get) with a very human story that will make you laugh, cry, and reflect on the greatest mysteries of life and love. Kudos Mr. Tambakis, whom I hope is busy working on his second novel.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swimming with Bridgeport Girls caught my eye in part because it took place in New Jersey, particularly at the Jersey shore, where I was born and raised. I learned this from the reviews, however, as the author (Anthony Tambakis) gave few clues at first. Instead, he chose to plunge the unsuspecting reader into the chaos of his main character's life without preparation of any kind. I actually felt physical discomfort having to witness the destructive nature of Raymond Parisi, 31 years old at the start of the book, hopelessly addicted to drugs and gambling, unable to figure out why his life has fallen apart, in serious denial and on the verge of legal trouble for his increasingly aberrant behavior. His only goal was to win back the wife who had divorced him and whom he loved unhealthily. Nobody could penetrate the walls he had built, his friends peeled away one by one. He lost his job at ESPN. Handsome as Paul Newman, with a personality that shone so brightly that he was universally beloved, he had squandered all his advantages and was sliding toward oblivion.

The structure of the story telling was also chaotic, jumping from one era to another and back again without ceremony, warning or mercy. It took a minute as the story ended to piece together the experiences that had made this boy-man- criminal - and superhero. At the end, the author had Ray make a trip to Memphis, where he saw both Graceland ( and the Lorraine hotel). At which point anybody who has sought to understand Elvis will see resemblances to Ray's fictional bio.

I was impressed by the way Anthony Tambakis writes about emotions, healthy and unhealthy. I loved the scenes between Ray and his mother-in-law especially, but also the scenes with the girls he used and manipulated along the way, leaving each of them with far less and far more than they had before they became a part of his crazy schemes. And thus the title, which refers to the habit the rich prep school boys had of going swimming with the Bridgeport (CT) girls who would put out while taking to the rich prep school girls who wouldn't to school events.

Swimming with Bridgeport schools deals throughout with the idea of throwaway people who are taken advantage of by rich people who feel more entitled and more worthy. It is also a prolonged discussion of the effects of trauma through a lifetime on everybody with whom the damaged person comes into contact. And as I think of all the ways Tambakis illustrated his themes, I am in awe of his ability.

My only problem with this book is that it doesn't have an ending. Now I have to figure out what's going to happen to Ray from here on out all by myself. My husband would have thrown the book against the wall for this. I will give it 4 stars and remember it as a book with a lot of emotional intelligence.

[Kara of BookishBytes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tone and themes of this book are very similar to Richard Russo's Straight Man and Straight Man is one of my all-time favorite books, so I found Swimming with Bridgeport Girls delightful.

Ray Parisi's wife divorced him after he messed up his life and gambled away tens of thousands of dollars. Ray is determined to win his ex-wife's love back by buying her dream house with (hoped for) gambling proceeds. You and I know it's a flawed plan, but Ray doesn't. He makes a series of stupid decisions, peppered with occasional insight and generosity. The author's tone perfectly balances Ray's sadness and sentimentality with absurd and slapstick action and the honesty of consequences.

4 stars genuinely earned + an extra star for making me want to read one of my favorite books again (for the 45th time)

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this book and immediately thought about quitting. The main character is a compulsive gambler, and every decision (or lack thereof) he made was awful. But each sentence was interesting, and I kept reading it because basically I couldn't stop. It was a very good book, and I only gave it 4 stars because Anthony Tambakis broke my heart on the very last page. The final paragraph was so sad that I'm pretty sure I will never forget it. And I'm mad at him for that.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet Ray, a hopeless romantic, a good guy down on his luck, and an underdog you will never forget. Meet Renee, an sidekick, savior, and a girl reminiscent of a bird with a broken wing. In "Swimming with Bridgeport Girls", Anthony Tambakis crafts a story that is delicate, touching and pulls at your heartstrings, yet also makes you occasionally want to punch some of the characters in the face. Tambakis' narrative takes you on a journey that will make you think twice about reading the last page because you don't want it to come to an end. "Swimming with Bridgeport Girls" forces you challenge your heart, cheer for an unlikely hero, and laugh about love, life, and the brutal truths that can sometimes be a much-needed wake-up call.

Read this book. Read every word.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anthony Tambakis is a screenwriter and he should probably stick to that line of work as a novelist Swimming with Bridgeport girls. One blurb cites the novel as if a Richard Russo character went to Las Vegas. That description is insulting to Russo and perhaps, if it is even possible to Las Vegas. The hero is a dysfunctional, delusional loser who deserves even worse then he gets. I am giving the book a second star because the author references both the Parker House in Sea Girt and Martell's Tiki Bar in Point Pleasant . These references were the clear highlight of the novel. Go to the Parker House and have a beer it will be a lot better then this book.

[Yael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was rooting for Ray Parisi so much. Why? I don't know. Perhaps because he kept thinking his wackadoodle plans were going to work out. Perhaps because he was persistent, even to a fault, in the name of love. He felt so pure in so many ways, but he was also a narcissistic dick. The first half of this book reminded me so much of a Hunter S. Thompson novel, albeit with less vulgarity. It was enjoyable though sometimes excruciating to read as you just want Parisi to make different decisions. As an aside, I liked reading a story that partly took place close to where I live (and the author grew up in Fairfield!). Definitely would recommend for a different sort of read!

[Tim Shortt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is 299 pages of a man being a dick. I enjoyed it. It's genuinely funny, the humour rising from the character's personality, attitude and actions rather than any writer games. Stick your man in a whirl of self-destruction for 299 pages, give him goals that should have him arrested and still keep him somewhat likable - that's an achievement. I need a book like this - character driven, quick moving and fun - every so often. I don't find them often enough.

[Janet Elsbach]

Writing is top-notch. Scenes so poignant (I''m looking at you, Lucille and Stevie Smith) as to get something in my eye. Snorting laughter, which is not easy to extract from a reader, was a frequent companion. And yet this was a book I could not finish. I could not finish it (though I did read the ending, which is something I almost never do, believing firmly that endings are only for people who have read the book) because despite Ray's impressive investment in making the wrong choice every time, Tambakis draws him so dear that you cannot help but see why his ex-wife weeps at the sight of his beat-up face and the dog (despite all the french bread pizzas) is so very disappointed in him. You have to be in a certain mood to strap yourself in for the epic, knee-slapping self-destruction of a good guy and I wasn't.

[Ash👾 · Rating 3 out of 5]

UGH I had high hopes for this but it never really delved deep enough for me to feel anything for the MC

[Mustafa Ahmadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

gambling is dangerous and this book shows why but also u may be one hand away from everything but what is everything ya know? good read i wanted ray to win even with how bad the dude was love can be so powerful in making u root for something u know is wrong

[Robbin Zella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel reads like a screenplay which is not a surprise as the author has numerous film credits to his name. The story is smartly structured using diary entries by Ray Parisi's wife "L" to begin each chapter affording the reader a glimpse into his wife's perspective prior to "hearing" Ray's version of events. And there are many, many events including bar fights, crashing his ex-wife's wedding and lots of drinking and gambling in Connecticut and Nevada. The novel moves seamlessly between the past and the present as we learn about L and Ray's relationship: when and how they met, their deep love for each other, the places they lived, college years etc. but we also watch, not only the disintegration of the marriage, but the swift unraveling of Ray. Although the behavior is horribly self-destructive the author keeps us laughing, after all, humor is Ray's best defense. Ray is charming, humorous and fun to be around. He tells us that he's an expert at "fitting in" but what also emerges is a portrait of a man whose soul has been deeply wounded by a difficult childhood: his mother, afflicted with schizophrenia, was in and out of hospitals, committing suicide when Ray is nine; a distant father who ships his son off to boarding schools with the end result being a highly likable boy who is nevertheless kicked out of all those schools and has no real personal/social connections (except when he meets and clicks with L.). Tambakis is masterful at showing us the many ways that Ray Pariisi has been affected by adult attachment disorder. Symptoms of this disorder include addiction, impulsiveness and lack of responsibility which comprise the events that propel this story forward. Tambakis shows us the long-term damage to Ray from neglect by his father and the absence of his mother (through no fault of her own.) L. and Ray are in their early twenties when they meet and fall-in-love and the diary entries show the maturation of L while Ray's narration of his antics illustrate the ways in which he is "stuck" emotionally and also illustrate for the reader why his wife must move on from their relationship lest they both go under. Ray is lucky and talented, misguided and undisciplined and the book is filled with many examples that underscore the negative effects of this disorder coupled with his personal character flaws that keep him trapped--literally unable to develop-- and yet, Tambakis creates a truly sympathetic protagonist. The final chapter is heartbreaking (and foreshadowed earlier in the book). Swimming with Bridgeport Girls is a sad story told by a masterful storyteller.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skimming through the reviews, I see that the consensus on this particular novel is mixed. I assume this is specifically a byproduct of how idiotic Ray Parisi is as a protagonist, which is perfectly understandable. This is, in my opinion anyways, a very intentional decision from Tambakis, and adds a lot to the story. Perhaps I am biased because I read this during a rough period of my life, but I adored the book so much because I knew what it felt like to be Ray Parisi's ex wife. It was not about relating to the protagonist, but reading a cathartic tale from the view of somebody I used to love. (Or at least used to want in my life.) After dealing with a terrible situation and feeling quite betrayed by somebody so witty, funny, and likable, I found myself searching for answers, you know? Like why would this person whom I was supposed to be able to trust, wound me so badly? This novel painted Ray Parisi as a person who you've wanted so terribly to care for, but you know that you can't. You know that the second they get a chance they will squander your opportunities, and that you are incapable of healing their troubled nature. It was a healing experience for me and helped me make peace with the past, and eventually, let that toxic person go.

[LateBlumer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read until page 75, and decided it was time to skip ahead and see if I this book would resemble a story. Unfortunately, it felt like I was reading the novelization of Wayne's World 2: pop-culture references and product placement. The story was off-putting due to the protagonist's: abundant self-reflections on his past which slowed the story's pacing and never really being put through the wringer due to the author's hand in cuddling his darling Ray.

Even though this book wasn't for me, I'll still read other works from the author.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I happened upon this book by accident. The title drew me since being from Bridgeport myself. I can say enough about this book. The main character is so funny and yet so pathetic at every turn that you can't help cheering for him even though you KNOW he is doomed. I hear that the author is writing a screenplay for this book and I can not wait to see this film. My only hope is that Ryan Reynolds plays Ray/Raoul.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply brilliant!

[Lex · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received this book from a publisher in exchange for a review.*

”And Welcome to Fucked City. Population: Ray.”

Richard Russo’s name caught my attention immediately. I love ’Bridge of Sighs’ by him, it’s one of my favorite books, so my expectations were very high, because you don’t just throw Russo’s name lightly around. And I have to say, I can see why they made a connection between him and Tambakis. I still prefer Russo’s books about small-town lives, but 'Swimming With Bridgeport Girls' isn’t a bad story either. It’s just not really my cup of tea.

“Let me be honest here: I’ve been embellishing, or just flat lying, since I was a kid. I have no idea why. I suppose it entertained me to make things up at first, and then it got to the point where I just wanted things to be different than they were and found that they could be if you just said it was so.”

“It’s adorable that you two have the same birthday, by the way. That’ll be fun for the eight or nine that he has left.”

Well, here’s our protagonist, Ray. (He just introduced himself above.) Funny, but I really liked him despite everything he did. I think he’s likeable because he f*cked his life up so much, he’s so delusional, he’s so blinded by love, that you can’t not pity him. And when you start feeling this way toward him, you just start to see the deep cracks under the mask of lies. While I despised him because of his gambling habits in the first part of the book, I felt really sorry for him in the second part where all things made sense; you get to know his past and the events which led him to this fate. I especially pitied him because he thought Gatsby succeeded (oops, spoiler, sorry) because he didn’t finish either the book or the movie, so he really thought that he has a chance.

“One modification and you could go from being broken down to up and running in a flash. It was a beautiful thing, right? It was a beautiful thing.”

So… gambling… That’s the thing I don’t like about this story because I hate gambling so much. And let’s face it, that’s a huge part of the book. I don’t know the rules of the games, and I don’t wanna know them either, so I just breezed through these parts.
As is usually the case with gambling, there’s ups and downs. It’s actually painful and sometimes tiring to watch a man racing down a hill into a ditch. I mean it's okay for some time (look at that moron and things like that), but then you just want to cover your eyes to not see how he falls. At least it was like that for me. There was a time when I just didn't want to know how this will end.

“Hell, life was so hard that you had to spend a third of it asleep just to have the energy to deal with the rest of it.”

The end was really-really great, I liked it very much. Of course it would be good to know what happened to him, if he got caught by the police, or starved to death, or killed himself, or whatever, but still I think that this ending is the best. He’s not a saint; he lied a lot to a lot of people, he almost ruined his ex-wife’s wedding, but it’s sad to see him this lonely and miserable. It’s actually touching.

I give it 4.5 stars because it’s a little bit overwritten and because I hate gambling. But otherwise it’s a really good novel.

[Paul McBride · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a hot mess this book turned out to be. Based on the praise this book has received I wonder if I had a different copy.
The story in a nutshell, is about Ray who has turned into a chronic gambler, who owes everyone money, who will always make the worst decisions possible, who has been fired from his on air job at ESPN, his wife has divorced him, but Ray is sure he can win her back with the right decision. The story primarily takes place in Connecticut and Las Vegas.
I really was looking forward to this book, but sadly I ended up disappointed.
Here is a list of the problems I had with this book.
1. The story is told in 1st person. This can be difficult for inexperienced authors. There is too many times that the present day narrative stops to tell a story from the past. Oftentimes these accounts of situations that took place weren't that relevant and were seldom all that funny.
2. At times in the story, things are rather frenetic but, again this is hard to pull off. Tim Dorsey does this very well with his Serge Storms series, but in this book it just was chaotic for chaos sake. And again I didn't find the situations entertaining.
3. Instead of being funny Ray is just a pathetic gambler who bumbles along until he has to do something at which point he will always pick the worst choice.
4. I found myself skimming whole pages because nothing was actually happening. Someone should have edited this book down.
In the end for me it was a chore to finish this book.
Maybe the movie will be better.

[Crazycatlady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ifyou don’t like irresponsible self-centered delusional protagonists who sometimes exhibit behaviors indicative of personality disorder, Swimming With Bridgeport Girls may not be for you (you judgmental stiff). Despite substance abuse, near constant lying, and tendency to take advantage of his few remaining friends, Ray Parisi still manages to be, for the most part, a likeable guy. Making one bad decision after another while going from casino to casino as he carries out a scheme to win back his ex-wife, Ray shows just enough humanity to make the reader think that, hey, maybe he’s not a sociopath after all. At various points, it seems as if he may actually redeem himself—until he makes yet another impulsive choice and leaves you wondering if he has any sort of conscience whatsoever. The tone is light and there tons of laugh out loud moments and it’s all just a fun rollicking adventure from Connecticut to Las Vegas and then to Memphis. The ending is a bit of a surprise, not so much in the revelations as in the overall mood. Not to give anything away, but the last few pages pack a literary wallop

[Ireland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ray, who is telling his story in first-person, is everything I can't stand in a man. He does drugs, over drinks, lies, swears, avoids issues, engages is senseless violence, and is addicted to gambling. And yet..... I fell for him....hard. In the beginning it was because he was so funny, then I was charmed by how much he loved his wife. After listing many little things he loves about his wife ( most husbands couldn't come up with 4) he says," How you could wait for her to get ready for an eternity and never be disappointed when she walked out." Who says things like that? Then the story in all it's difficult glory unfolds. You are taken to some very uncomfortable places , I was literally cringing and afraid to read the next paragraph. Within the flashbacks to Ray's past you peel back the layers of the onion, and then I was a goner. I am so sad to have finished this wonderfully written story, I do not want to say goodbye. I hope there is a sequel, I need more Ray, like Ray needs blackjack.

[rachel taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is tougher than the rest!!!

Very rarely do you find an author that is willing crack open his characters and spill their guts out in a tangled mess of realistic heartache, devastation, determination and humor as Anthony Tambakis has done in Swimming With Bridgeport Girls.

I fell in love with Ray over and over again, even though he was a mess of epic proportions, because haven't we all known someone like Ray or maybe we are like Ray ourselves.

This is an over-the-top, gut-wrenching, pee your pants, edge-of-your-seat, grenade to the heart novel that will make you root for the underdog while wanting to whack him upside the head.

I tip my cup of coffee creamer to this outstanding writer and I congratulate him on his well-deserved place on the shelf, next to other great writers!

[Neesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really surprised me. When I started reading I thought it would be 3 stars at best but it kept my interest and just kept getting better. The story brings you in but the best part is the true humanity in the main character. I was struck not by "Oh you can really identify with him" or "what a great guy", but by the REAL humanity on display in this book. He has compassion but doesn't know how to act on it. He loves his wife but can't really express it in a way that seems normal to anyone. He cares, but not usually about the right things. He sees the good and the bad in people but can't see them both in himself. In the end you take away the message of human nature, which boils down to...nobody's perfect. This is a message the comes through in a lot of my favorite novels, series, movies, and TV shows and I love that it came through in this dark horse of a book.

[Norrin2 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was well-written and very funny in spots but ultimately a disappointment for several reasons.
1. The main character was thoroughly unlikable and impossible after a point to pull for. Yeah, I know he was a gambling addict, but his constant lies, his lack of empathy and remorse made him seem like a borderline sociopath.
2. Somebody winning more than a million dollars in Las Vegas TWICE in as many days stretches credibility way past the breaking point. We're now in some gambling addict's wet dream and way far removed from the realm of possibility.
3. The pointlessly depressing ending. It was obvious that Ray Parisi was not going to win his wife back but he still had plenty of reasons to live and for him to wander off to die like a Russian space dog left a bad taste in my mouth. I know I said I didn't like the main character much but I didn't want him to die.

[Sarah Schwartz · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens when an affable person falls down a deep gambling addiction hole, only to discover that most of his relationships are superficial and the one that is of utmost importance is ruined? Let me start by saying, I can’t relate to having a gambling addiction and reading about his escapades gave me anxiety! Ray attracts people wherever he goes. He’s that magnetic person in every room that you’re just drawn to, so he meets a lot of quirky people along his journey. Honestly I liked the secondary characters more than him. I’d say 90% of the book led up to the last 10% and the ending was kind of a let down. That said, there were some tender deep moments there at the end with raw emotion that saved the book from being a dud for me. People are complex and this book definitely showed that.

[Linda Epach · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Swimming with Bridgeport Girls" by Anthony Tambakis tells the story of Ray Parisi. It begins with him living in a motel, still in love with an ex-wife who has moved on, he's a broke hopeless gambling addict, without a job, a dognapper and completely lost. Thru his crazy attempts to win back L and get his life back on track and many flashbacks, we get to know Ray. At times this book is a hilarious and over the top romp with Ray which is a lot of fun to read. However the best parts of the book are the quieter one, my favorites are him with his mother-in-law and Ray's conversation with L toward the end of the novel. Wonderful book for anyone who knows an addict, been in love with an addict, is a former addict, or has had any experience with unrequited love.